The electronic version of the book 50 questions about Jesus was released in mid-April in the Apple Store. Since then, this document has been receiving nothing but hits and is among the most downloaded books for free. It is available in ePub format for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iBooks.

This ebook is based on the document Jesus Christ and the Churchwritten in 2006 and available in PDF, which has been downloaded 3,900,000 times since its publication on the Opus Dei website.

The book has been written by professors of the Sacred Scripture department of the School of Theology of the University, and prefaced and edited by Juan Chapa, Dean of the School. The questions and answers are also available on Youtube.

Juan Chapa assures that the figure of Jesus and the Christian origins arouse at least curiosity and that the phenomenon of network and the new technologies have an impressive scope and evangelizing possibilities. This is what he says in the following interview:

Why are fifty questions chosen?

The idea arose on the occasion of the publication of the novel The Da Vinci Code. It is interesting to see that nowadays young people have never heard of this book. As expected, it was a passing boom publishing house , like so many others. But, given the advertising and the commotion caused, we saw fit to clarify some of the questions about Jesus that the novel presented as historically proven facts, when in fact they were frivolous and irresponsible distortions of history-fiction, taking as alibis some archaeological discoveries. We thought about which important points should be clarified, and we tried to formulate them in simple questions answered briefly in no more than one sheet of paper. To answer them we distributed them among the professors of department of Sacred Scripture of the School of Theology: Francisco Varo, Gonzalo Aranda, Vicente Balaguer, Santiago Ausín, Juan Luís Caballero and myself. They were published simultaneously on the Opus Dei web page and as a book on publishing house Rialp.

Have you considered a second part or an extension of the document?

At the moment we have not thought of adding more questions. Perhaps at a later date it might be opportune. In any case, as historical science advances, there is always room for update what now exists.

How have you received the news of almost four million downloads?

Naturally, I was very happy, but I was also surprised. Relatively recently we had been told that we had reached two million. Possibly the distribution of the product through the Apple Store has been a multiplying factor.

What value does this data have for you as a theologian?

I think it shows how theology is a science that is attentive to the questions of its time, and that is concerned with bringing the results of the current research to fields that have repercussions on faith and on people's lives. Certainly, what we know about the historical figure of Jesus and the origins of the Church are questions that directly affect the existence of millions of people.

What about the possibility of this system for evangelization? The Opus Dei Information Office has published other free books that can be found at download from the website opusdei.es/ebooks.

It seems to me that such a high number of downloads issue sample that the phenomenon of network and the new technologies has an impressive scope and evangelizing possibilities. None of the professors who worked on this text could have suspected that what we wrote a few years ago could reach so many people. I think, therefore, that St. Josemaría, the founder of our university, who closely followed the birth and development of the School of Theology, must have taken great joy in it.

What do you think is the reason for your success?

Although it is true that the issue of downloads does not tell you how many people have read the document (I always jokingly say that the hard disks of computers are full of documents that sleep "the sleep of the just"), the mere fact of downloading it sample that the figure of Jesus is always of great interest. On the other hand, we live in a world where everything goes very fast. People have no time for anything and need immediate and clear answers, easy to understand and at the same time solidly argued.

To whom is this document addressed?

It is not intended for specialists, but for anyone who wants to find a concise answer from the historical point of view to some of the questions on topics that today are of special interest in relation to Jesus and the Christian origins. The answers are brief and obviously much more could be said in each of them. Therefore, for those who wish to deepen or contextualize, a select bibliography is offered at the end of the book.

How do you evaluate the Church's adaptation to new technologies to make its message known?

From the first years of expansion, the Church has used every means at its disposal to carry the message of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. What was initially transmitted orally was immediately put in writing; what had Semitic roots entered into dialogue with the Philosophy and Greek cultures; etc. In a certain sense we are living a status analogous to that which occurred with the change of book format in the first centuries of our era. The codex format (that of the printed book today) replaced the traditional scroll. At present, the digital book is largely replacing the traditional book.

Should we continue to look for new ways to evangelize?

I think that novelty should not be sought for novelty's sake. The Gospel is always new. It has no need to adapt to the times. But it is good to keep in mind that where the interests of the men and women of each era are, Jesus Christ must also be present. Benedict XVI included Twitter among the means of evangelization and Pope Francis continues to use it.